Regal D.O.A Every morning

P

PNYKLR

Member
Joined
May 24, 2001
Howdy all! Every morning, my Regal is D.O.A and I cant figure out why. I checked the lights, heat radio, everything nothing at all is on . I thought it was something in the steering column, so I had it replaced still does the same thing. I have to jump start the car every morning and this is my 3rd new Diehard Gold in like 2 months. I have also replaced the alternator and serpentine belt as I thought maybe that could be the problem (a shot in the dark).When I say the battery is dead the interior light doesnt even come on I have to disconnect the battery at night or get my jumper cables ready. Does anyone have an idea what would cause the car to drain the battery within a few hours that much??
Its a pain in the rear to disconnect the battery every night! Plus I am trying to iron out all the problems before I do my motor swap!
 
First make sure the battery is good and able to hold up in this cold weather. Get it fully charged to at least 12.6v, disconnected, and see if it holds that charge completely for 24 hours. If it loses .1v it's no good. :)
 
You're having the same problem I'm having right now with my Z28. I too suspected the battery, alternator, or a circuit problem. Basically I was looking at everything but the actual culprit.
I didn't just have to jump start it. I had to jump start it with a diesel truck with TWO batteries :eek:
I would try charging the battery. Battery charger indicated there was not problem. Soooooo, I finally decided to take the battery out and try it in one of my GN's. Spun that baby over with now sweat!!!

Moral of the story: I'm replacing the obviously bad starter in the Z28 :mad:
 
I got the battery fully charged and as long as the terminals arent connected it will hold a charge 24, 48, 72 hours whatever as long as the terminals arent connected I'm doing a motor swap on this car within the next few weeks, so I want to find the battery drain, but I cant imagine what it could be ???
 
If it turns the motor over and starts after being disconnected all night its probably not the starter.

Something is causing a drain. You can find this if you have a digital multimeter, or if not just pull one fuse at a time (keep track of which ones on paper) and see if your problem goes away.

Also check all connections, especially around the starter, and make sure they are tight and have ZERO corrosion.
 
I just cant imagine what could drain the power that much its wierd I gotta find someone with a multimeter
 
This didnt happen until I brought the car to a local mechanic
I wonder if he messed with something purposely (my usual guy was on vacation)
 
Fan delay relay is the biggest drainer, then trunk, underhood and glovebox lights. What about a stereo amp wired so it's on all the time instead of only when the key is on?
 
check to be sure the bulb is good for the volt light in the dash, i read once before that if the bulb is bad the car wont charge i cant validate (i didnt go through the archives) but its somthing simple enough to look into (and cheap to replace) but it sounds to me like there is a drain somewhere rather than the alt just not charging the batt
 
Could someone enlighten me on the fan delay relay and what its purpose is? Thanks for any info.
 
Dumb Question?

The volt light is working , dumb question but where's the fan relay and the blower resistor motor (my heat only works on the middle settings and I changed the switch already)
 
PNYKLR, If you have a factory alarm on the car check to see if the bulb goes out on the dash after you lock the door and close it. That was my problem. My battery was draining every night also and for a year I couldn't figure it out pulled the bulb out and haven't had a problem since.HTH
 
Lots of great ideas I really appreciate it - no alarm at all on the car(not yet) I had thought it was something to do with the ignition, since the car used to run after I turned the key off . I have since replaced the steering column and that problem hasnt re-occured.
I also thought it was the seatbelt chime since that stayed on also when I shut the car off, but since I replaced the column that hasnt acted up at all either. I guess I'm gonna have to pick up a multimeter one day this week and until then keep disconnecting the battery. Would a test light do the same thing for me ? Thanks for all the help !!!
 
Yes a test lamp will work almost as well as the ammeter.

The fan delay relay is the large one on the drivers side in the back towards the firewall.

Has 2 connectors on it. Pull them both off and tape them up or put a baggy over them. :)

Fan delay relay runs the fan if the car is too hot when you turn it off. Not needed on most cars in MHO.

Both of mine are disconnected. I am :)
 
I feel your pain. See thread "electrical drain" elsewhere in this section. I have tried every suggestion and am STILL trying to chase this rabbit. If the fuse test doesn't point to the culprit completely unhook the alternator and test again, then the ECM, good luck.........
 
drain

check to see if your trunk light is staying on, and or your glove box light as well...Try just putting a DVM on the 10 or 20 amp current scale, depending on what kind of DVM you have. Remove the positive terminal and stick the meter in the middle. With everything off, doors closed and key off. very little current should be seen on the DVM being drawn. If 1 amp or more is seen on the DVM, then open your driver door, have someone hold the dome light switch in the off(door closed) position and start pulling fuses 1 by 1 until the current draw goes away or is sigificantly reduced. Just my thought. Also, disconnect the orange wire to the ecm supply by the battery and see if the current draw is reduced.
 
arista5 may be on to something, i had a problem where when it was cold my bulb for the voltage light didn't make a connection so it would die soon after the battery was drained. If the bulb does not work then the alternator does not charge.
 
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